DEGREES
 

M.A.TESOL Program
(Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
 

Admission Requirements

  • Admission to graduate study at Portland State University. 
  • Proficiency in English if the student is not a native speaker of English. 
  • Two years proficiency in at least one non-English language if the student is a native speaker of English. 
COURSE REQUIREMENTS (starting Fall 2003)

In addition to the minimum graduate school requirements, the following courses are required. (For those students who have completed the Certificate in TESL, certain advisor-approved courses will be used to substitute for some of the following requirements.)

Courses are 4 credits unless otherwise noted.

Prerequisite courses:

  • Ling 390 Introduction to Linguistics or equivalent
  • Ling 492 Structure of English or equivalent (this requirement can be satisfied by a passing score on the Applied Linguistics departmental grammar exam.)

Required Credits:

I.  Language Education/Applied Linguistic Theory -- 20 CREDITS
Required Courses (16 credits):

  •          Ling 538:Second Language Acquisition
  •          Ling 571: Understanding the International Experience 
  •          Ling 577:Methods I
  •          Ling 578: Methods II

4 credits from the following:

  •          Ling 509:Practicum
  •          Ling 539:Language Assessment
  •          Ling 565:Administration of ESL/EFL Programs
  •          Ling 570: Grammar for TESOL
  •          Ling 575:Curriculum Design and Materials Development
  •          Ling 576: Corpus Linguistcs in Language Teaching

II.  Foundations in Language and Linguistic Theory -- 8 CREDITS
Linguistic Analysis: Choose 4 credits from the following courses:

  •          Ling 513:Linguistic Semantics
  •          Ling 514:Linguistic Pragmatics
  •          Ling 515:Linguistic Phonetics
  •          Ling 516:Discourse Analysis
  •          Ling 520:Historical-Comparative Linguistics

Linguistic Argumentation: Choose 4 credits from the following courses:

  •        Ling 511:Syntax
  •        Ling 512: Phonology

III.  Language and Society and/or Language and the Mind -- 8 CREDITS

You may choose 8 credits from “Language and Society,” or from “Language and Mind,” or 4 credits from each:

Language and Society:

  •         Ling 532: Sociolinguistics
  •         Ling 580: Bilingualism
  •         Ling 581: World Englishes
  •         Ling 582: Pidgins & Creoles

Language and Mind:

  •        Ling 533: Psycholinguistics
  •        Ling 537: First Language Acquisition
  •        Ling 545: Linguistics and Cognitive Science

IV.  Research Design and Thesis -- 10 CREDITS

  •         Ling 560: Research Design (2 credits)
  •         Ling 561: Research Methods (2 credits)
  •         Thesis, Project, or Comprehensive Exam (6 credits)

Total Credits =   46

(see list of M.A. Thesis Titles in of Applied Linguistics :1976-2007)

LING courses numbered 505/507/510:

  • 505 (Reading and Conference)
  • 507 (Seminar)
  • 510 (Selected Topics):

The content of 505, 507, and 510 courses will vary. Instructor will determine which MA-TESOL distribution requirement each 505/507/510 course will fulfill.

Grammar Proficiency Requirement:

All students must fulfill the TESOL grammar knowledge requirement by either :

  1. passing the Department Grammar Test, or
  2. passing LING 492: Structure of the English Language with a grade of ‘B’ or better.

Practice Component: 

70 hours of documented tutoring, observation, and practice teaching, presented in a Portfolio (which includes other elements, such as a philosophy of  teaching statement).  

Much of this Portfolio will be developed as part of the assignments in LING 577 and 578 (TESOL Methods I and TESOL Methods II).
 

  • Important: Courses taken under the undifferentiated grading option (Pass/No Pass) are not acceptable toward fulfilling department requirements.  All courses used to satisfy the MA requirements, whether taken in the department or elsewhere, must be graded B or above.
  • No later than the end of the first quarter after admission to the MA-TESOL program, the student is required to consult with their TESOL advisor to select the appropriate courses and areas of concentration.
  • Some students may be required by the terms of their admission or by their advisor to take more than the minimum 46 credits of course work for their degree.  For example, students with no prior training in linguistics must take LING 390 before attempting a 500 level course.  Non-native students with little training in American and British literature should take a lower-division literature course before attempting a 500 level course.  Such courses will not count toward the MA degree.
  • A maximum of 16 credits taken prior to admission can be transferred into the program.  Reading and conference courses applicable toward the degree are limited to 12 credits.

To print out  an application packet to the MA-TESOL Program, please go to MA:TESOL application.

  • Please be aware of the application deadlines.
You will also need to print out a MA:TESOL Approval Form which you will keep until you completed the required course work.

Need more info? Have more questions? Can't print the application packet? Pls. Contact the Dept of Applied Linguistics
 

Master of Arts or Master of Science in Teaching, or the Master of Education

 Updated: 29Feb-2008